Editing John William Friso (section)

==Succession==
With the death of [[William III of Orange]], the legitimate male line of [[William the Silent]] (the second [[House of Orange]]) became extinct. John William Friso, the senior [[agnatic]] descendant of William the Silent's brother and a [[cognatic]] descendant of [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederick Henry]], grandfather of William III, claimed the succession as stadtholder in all provinces held by William III. This was denied to him by the republican faction in the [[Netherlands]].<ref name=StatePF>State, P. F. (2008). ''A Brief History of the Netherlands''. New York: Facts on File.</ref> 

The five provinces over which William III ruled – [[County of Holland|Holland]], [[County of Zeeland|Zeeland]], [[Lordship of Utrecht|Utrecht]], [[Duchy of Guelders|Gelderland]] and [[Lordship of Overijssel|Overijssel]] – all suspended the office of stadtholder after William III's death. The remaining two provinces – Friesland and Groningen – were never governed by William III, and continued to retain a separate stadtholder, John William Friso. He established the third House of Orange, which became extinct in the male line in 1890. His son, [[William IV of Orange]], later became stadtholder of all seven provinces.<ref name=StatePF />

Under William III's will, Friso stood to inherit the [[Principality of Orange]], but due to the outbreak of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], Johan Willem Friso was unable to assert his claims to the principality and other possessions of William III. His inheritance was contested by his cousin, [[Frederick I of Prussia]], as well as by his [[William Hyacinth, Prince of Nassau-Siegen|Catholic relative from Nassau-Siegen]] and various descendants of the old [[House of Chalon]] in France. Additionally, King Louis XIV sought to take control of the principality, which had long been a Protestant enclave. He temporarily supported the claims of the [[Louis Armand II, Prince of Conti|Prince of Conti]], who was recognized by the French council as the rightful heir. The Protestant population was expelled, and the Principality of Orange remained in French hands following the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713, with the Prince of Conti acknowledging Louis XIV’s sovereignty. The inheritance of William III and the title "Prince of Orange" became the subject of a serious dispute between the Frisian branch of the House of Nassau and the Prussian royal family, a conflict that remained unresolved at the time of Johan Willem Friso’s death in 1711.{{sfn|Blok|Molhuysen|1911}}